Camryn | Playdates + Pearls

01/07

Green Smoothies

Many of you have vowed to eat more veggies (and less fries), exercise regularly, and be healthier in the new year. We all want to lead healthier lives, but eating the amount of veggies that the Doctor recommends isn’t always easy, or tasty. One of the ways I consume my veggies with very little prep, cooking time, or even the hassle of doing many dishes is by drinking green smoothies. It’s also the easiest way for me to keep my toddler healthy and eating her greens, and she drinks them without a battle. In fact, she requests them, because they really are delicious!

There’s an easy formula to follow to make a great tasting, and great for you smoothie. It’s 5 simple steps:

1.|| Pick your base: Coconut water, almond milk, coconut milk, orange juice, filtered water, green tea….

2.|| Pick your leafy greens: spinach, kale, collard, swiss chard, beet greens, romaine (sweet in flavor)

3.|| Pick your fruits: Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Mango, Peaches, Papaya, Avocado (I always add avocado, no matter what other fruit I add), Banana…

4.|| Healthy Additions: Grains, Seeds, Proteins, Nut Butters, Spirulina…

5.|| Sweeten if needed: Stevia, Honey, Agave, Maple Syrup…

BLEND! So easy, and so healthy.

Here’s my BASIC go-to green smoothie recipe that Camryn and I share regularly:

1/2 Avocado (I buy a bulk amount of avocado, cut them into 1″ cubes, and freeze them so they’re at the ready when I want to make a smoothie.)

1 banana (I do the same with my bananas as I do my avocados)

2 large handfuls of Spinach – If you’re thinking “Oh hell no!” at this point, then stop. You can hardly taste the spinach, if at all.

1/2 cup greek yogurt

Frozen Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries

1 tbsp Chia Seeds – These are SO good for you, give them a shot!

1/2 Cup Coconut Milk (add more or less liquid to achieve desired consistency)

BLEND. Camryn and I always change our smoothie depending on what I have on hand, but the avocado, banana, coconut milk, spinach, and chia seeds is our constant.

If Camryn has a sweet tooth then I’ll use chocolate milk and replace the berries with peanut butter for a chunky monkey smoothie.

Cheers to a healthier 2014!

XO – Samantha

posted by Samantha Hawes 6 Comments
Filed Under: Camryn, Food Tagged: Green Smoothie, Healthy Eating, Vegetables

01/06

Weekend Recap

Via

Let’s pretend it’s not Monday, and instead talk about the weekend, shall we? My weekend was fairly low-key, but we did venture out on Saturday to the SprATX grand opening. The space looks amazing, and is the perfect balance of industrial (think brick walls, and exposed ceiling pipes) and modern. It’s obviously a labor of love by all the many local artists, one of which is my BIL. Here’s some pics of the store, art, and my sister and BIL.

If you’re interested in knowing more about the story behind the artists, and how this awesome company/collaboration came to be, check out this video.

I bought a piece of art that I’m just a tad obsessed with. I’ll post photos as soon as it’s framed. I’m thinking it will be the perfect addition to my office space…if I ever get around to designing it. What’s that saying that rolls off my tongue far too often?! Oh, yeah, “add it to my to-do list!” (Worlds longest to-do list. Ahhh!) With that said, all of you Moms that also have full or even part-time jobs and still run your household like a boss, I applaud you, and I don’t know how you do it all.

Next door to the new SprATX shop were these train tracks, so I shot this picture of my sister helping Camryn walk the tracks for Day 4 of my Camryn Daily project.

After hitting up the SprATX opening, we accidentally ended up at In-N-Out, which recently opened here in Austin. Losing weight and eating healthier weren’t on our New Years resolution list, although clearly they should have been.

Camryn had her first In-N-Out cheeseburger and, my little bird who hardly eats anything in large quantities, chowed down and finished half of it. Less surprisingly, she helped polish off my chocolate shake.

On Sunday I took Camryn to the farmers market, a Sunday tradition for our family, and she had her face painted as a puppy. We always buy breakfast tacos, pain au chocolates (chocolate croissants) and choquettes. Camryn had to bring her little doggy to show Miss Melissa, our friend who paints faces at the farmers market, for face-painting inspiration. It was really windy and cold out, so we hurried home and spent the rest of the day relaxing, cleaning the house, and I might have watched some Gossip Girls…which by the way, NONE of you admitted to having watched. My husband now believes he’s won this war, and is 100% convinced that the show is for teenagers. I thought we were friends!? Friends don’t let friends-husbands win battles over chick tv!!

What kind of fun did you all get into this weekend?

XO – Samantha

posted by Samantha Hawes 4 Comments
Filed Under: Camryn, Camryn Daily, Let's Chat Tagged: art, Camryn Daily, Let's Chat, SprATX, Update, Weekend

01/03

First Lust List of 2014

1.|| This beautiful white and brown leather trunk from The Little Market has me swooning.

2.|| I’ve been eyeing this headboard for Camryn’s room.

3.|| We need new light fixtures desperately, and I’ve been loving a few from Restoration Hardware, including this dramatic little gem. I’m loving these for over my bar.

4.|| I mentioned yesterday that my husband and I want to travel overseas again this year, and we’ve been talking about seeing Greece. After looking at pictures, I’m sold! Has anyone been? Do you recommend it? My husband visited years ago, and wants to return.

5.|| I recently started watching the Gossip Girls series on Netflix after one of you suggested it to me, and I’m hooked! My husband will not stop making fun of me, and says it’s a show for young teens, but I highly disagree, there’s some stuff going on in the show that is not at all for young teens. Please leave a comment if you watched this show, and prove my husband wrong!!!

6.|| I saw this picture on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and I can’t stop thinking about changing my hair. Ombre? I have the length and I like the idea of focusing the damage to the ends of my hair so I can chop it off if I get tired of it being bleached. Thoughts?

7.|| If you live in the Austin area, be sure to check out the grand opening party at the new SprATX location on Saturday the 4th!

8.|| I found thinly sliced agate at Homegoods last week and I plan to frame them for my husband office. I’m envisioning 2 stacked frames (similar to photo above) with antlers above. Moth Designs has a great DIY tutorial for framing agate if you want some for your home.

9.|| This kills me.

10.|| How cute is this dress from Mason and the Tambourine? I couldn’t buy it for Camryn fast enough. I wish Candy Kirby Designs would start making dresses, because I’m smitten with her fabrics.

Did you check out yesterdays “Camryn Daily” pic? Our park doesn’t have potties, so I’m always that ghetto mom toting around a kid potty in my car. My house is only 4 houses away from the park, but this mommy is not going to pick up my kid and start running home when she says “I need to potty Mommy!”. Yeah, I lead a really glamorous life. If you haven’t checked out the pics you can see them all here.

Happy Friday!!

XO – Samantha

posted by Samantha Hawes 10 Comments
Filed Under: Camryn, DIY, Let's Chat, Lust List

01/02

Resolutions

I try really hard not to bully myself into being a “better” version of myself each New Year. I try to never set myself up for failure, because I’m my worst critic, and I get down on myself when I fail…I’m sure I’m not the only one. I do though believe in setting healthy and attainable goals. I perform well under pressure, and setting a goal that gives me a little push can help me grow, and is sometimes a really good thing. I’ve been thinking about things I’d like to try this year, places I’d like to go, and things I want to try to do to improve my health and well being, and here’s what I’ve come up with.

1.|| Drink more water!!! Ok, this is not a goal, this is a necessity. I am terrible about drinking water. I avoid it like the plague and will trade in a glass of H2O for coffee, juice, or a diet soda any day. My husband is constantly harping on the fact that I’m probably chronically dehydrated, and gets highly annoyed when after eating my meal I pound down his glass of water because I’m so thirsty. Apparently by the time you actually feel thirsty, your body has already started becoming dehydrated. This is a habit I need to break, especially so that I can be a good role model to my daughter. Priority #1 this year. (I failed at beginning this yesterday, so I’ll start today. Oops!)

Before & After

2.|| De-Clutter my home. In the course of a year I have managed to accumulate a lot of stuff, and all of this stuff is cluttering my home and making me feel anxious. I crave clean, organized, and clutter-free space. Most people would look at my home and think “Looks good to me!”, but it all feels so chaotic and messy to me. I’ve already started on this task by cleaning and organizing the closet under our staircase. It’s a massive L-shaped closet that became a war zone after pulling out Christmas decor. I bought a wall organizer and containers from Lowes, donated boxes full of things that we hadn’t used in the last year, and magically found the back of my closet! I will continue tackling the clutter room-by-room, and I’ll post progress pics for all of you that would like to make the same goal. Power in numbers, right? Let’s do this! PS…Please keep encouraging me, and remind me that de-cluttering may feel a lot like cleaning…which we all know sucks…but it MUST be done!

3.|| A photo a day of my sweet Camryn. I printed a book last year of all my instagram photos of Camryn, and it is by far my most loved possession. I skim through the pages and reminisce, usually cry, and tell my husband “I need another babyyyyy!!!” I can see how much she changed over such a short period of time, and I get to relive all those moments with her, and it’s just a really beautiful keepsake. I have wanted to do this for a really long time, but never took the leap and started, but now feels like the right time. I took the first picture of her yesterday while she was riding her new tricycle, dressed as a kitty (her current obsession). I created a page called Camryn Daily located at the top of the blog, next to Contact Me and Home Tour. I will keep that page updated with ALL of the photos, and in addition I will post some on FB, IG, and here in random posts.

4.|| Travel. Our little family took a 2 week vacation in September 2013 to France and had the most incredible trip, and it’s something we want to continue doing each year. Our daughter is no stranger to traveling, and has been to 4 countries, and been on nearly 50 flights. Visiting other countries, immersing yourself in their culture, seeing all the art and history, and experiencing the beauty of those places is a reminder of how little space we occupy on this earth and how little we know about one another. I want my daughter to meet people who live differently than we do, and learn to value our differences, and respect their ways of life. I want her to see this amazing world. We only get to live on this earth once, and it would be a shame not to see as much of it as we can.

One of my favorite memories with my husband and daughter. Summer 2013

5.|| Prioritize. I like to tell myself that I can do it all, but honestly, I can’t. I want to make an effort to put down my phone, close my laptop, and walk away from my office in the evenings and spend good quality time with my husband and daughter. I spend all day, everyday, with my tiny lady but I want to be more present and in the moment with her. I am guilty of being on my phone instead of playing, or getting involved in my blog each night instead of curling up with my husband…although, I’m not sure he’s been missing me lately. Football is his mistress…I should say his other mistress, because work takes the cake. Work hard, play hard. Prioritize, and then reap our reward…hopefully we’ll be reaping our rewards somewhere overseas this year. HA!

Those are my goals. What are your goals or resolutions for the new year?

XO – Samantha

posted by Samantha Hawes 5 Comments
Filed Under: Camryn, Let's Chat Tagged: 2014, Camryn Daily, de-clutter, goals, resolutions

12/13

Lust List: 12/12

1.|| I’m co-hosting a giveaway for a beautiful Bindya scarf with Lulu of Simply Lulu Style today, so come say hi and enter to win!

2.|| Urban Decay released their Naked3 palette, featuring rose hued neutrals. I own both the Naked1 & Naked2 palettes and love them. (Naked1 is my favorite of the two, if you’re curious) The palette sells for $52 and features 12 NEW shades that are exclusive to this palette. I am not a fan of the packaging, which is the same as the 2nd palette. I do love their brushes though, and use mine everyday for my concealer (not for applying their eyeshadows).

3.|| I ordered kitty cat shoes from Daily Look for myself to match the ones that I bought from Old Navy for Camryn. I also bought her the fox ones, just because I know they’ll make me laugh every time I see her wear them.

4.|| This interview with Susan Petersen of Freshly Picked is so inspiring.

5.|| I’m loving this indian inlay stencil by Cutting Edge Stencils and really want to get my hands on one. Wouldn’t this be awesome on a console table?

6.|| I ordered this darling sweatshirt from GreyThread on Etsy for my tiny lady. Go check out Nichole’s etsy shop, she has a ton of super cute apparel, like this other shirt I bought Camryn.

7.|| Popular mens brand, Bonobos, is launching AYR for women.

8.|| 7th Day of Christmas Giveaway!! Win a manicure kit containing the ever-so-popular Seche Vite topcoat, Seche Vite’s Iconic Red nail polish, Absolute! nail polish removing pads in spring fresh scent, and an Apricot Vanilla hand cream. Enter to win below. Don’t forget to go enter Day 5, and Day 6 before they end.

Have a great weekend!

XO – Samantha

a Rafflecopter giveaway

posted by Samantha Hawes 5 Comments
Filed Under: Beauty, Camryn, Fashion, Giveaway, Lust List

12/05

VonBon Apparel

Happy Thursday! Happy because there’s only 1 more day until the weekend, but also because I have one of my favorite companies to share with you guys today, as well as a coupon code.

You’ve all heard me talk about Vonbon before, but my love affair with this company is so strong that they deserved their own post!

I’ve searched for scarves for my tiny lady since she was old enough to wear them, and could never find anything that was modern, well made, and in her size. I started buying adult scarves for her (not cheap), cutting them in half (what a waste), and sewing them into little infinity scarves (I’m terrible at sewing, even straight lines)…then I discovered Vonbon, and the addiction started.

Jennifer and Kristen, two absolutely stunning sisters, created the Vonbon brand out of their desire to fulfill the need for quality, organic, and beautiful products suited for both mother and child. Tired of giving their expecting friends the traditional baby gifts, they began creating goods in neutral and sophisticated patterns that were easily transitioned from outfit to outfit, as well as being gender neutral. Vonbon uses only premium, organic fabrics, water based inks, and to ensure quality, they’re printed in small batches. These ladies are so incredibly sweet, and seriously care about their customers. Working with them has been so fun!

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen Camryn rocking her Vonbon frequently. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of her wearing the neutral feather infinity cowl, neutral triangle infinity cowl, and the nude polka dot headband.

Are you in love yet?

The first thing most moms want to know is “How do they wash?’, and the answer is GREAT! See that red frosted cupcake? Y’all know it t went all over her scarf, but you’d never even know now. A gentle cycle later, and it was good as new. The products are so well made, and I really appreciate that the children’s infinity cowls come in a generous size, so I don’t have to worry about Camryn outgrowing them anytime soon. I can actually wrap them around her neck 3x’s if it’s extra cold outside and I want her neck to stay warm and have the ability to zip her jacket all the way up. The neutral patterns make mixing and matching headbands and infinity cowls so easy, but doesn’t give off that “matchy matchy” look. I know these will still be favorites of mine when we decide to have baby #2, and they’ll look just as adorable on a boy or girl.

Here are some other Vonbon items that I’m currently lusting over:

Gray Antler Blanket – This would be so great in a boys room, or in a girls room in need of a masculine touch to balance the pink. It’s the perfect size for tummy time, swaddling, or as a car seat blanket.

Why don’t these Stella headbands come in my size?! They’re seriously adorable.

What baby wants to wear a bib when they could wear this black & white chevron bibdana?

Blush Antler Knotted Hat

Burp cloths that won’t make you cringe.

Adult Infinity Cowl in Blush Triangles

The girls at Vonbon are giving all of you a 15% discount on your total order until December 12th with code VONBONPEARLS

Go get your Vonbon on, and snag some Christmas gifts for friends!

Be sure to enter the 3 GIVEAWAYS while there’s still time!

Giveaway 1: https://playdatesandpearls.com/on-the-first-day-of-christmas/

Giveaway 2: http://playdatesandpearls.com/on-the-second-day-of-christmas/

Giveaway 3: https://playdatesandpearls.com/on-the-3rd-day-of-christmas/

XO – Samantha

posted by Samantha Hawes Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Camryn, Fashion, Let's Chat, Product Review Tagged: Accessories, Baby, baby scarves, bibdanas, bibs, blankets, Fashion, headbands, infinity cowls, scarves, Vonbon, Women

11/11

Toddler Fashion

I have had a ton of sweet, sweet comments from a bunch of you on Instagram and Facebook saying that you love what my daughter is wearing, and wondering where you can purchase the same/similar items. I thought today I’d share some of my favorite outfits that she’s worn recently, and provide links to items that are still available.